Turnbull "confident of ETS deal"

It seems a bit mundane to be discussing our local politics after the excitement of the last 24 hours, but I guess we must. Malcolm Turnbull is still pressing ahead with trying to negotiate the ETS through parliament:

ANTI-EMISSIONS trading scheme forces within the Coalition are ramping up their demands in a bid to make it impossible for the Liberal Party to back a climate change deal with the government, as the issue reignites speculation over the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull.

But the Liberal leader believes that he can win party support for an emissions trading deal if the Rudd government makes enough concessions for him to be able to recommend it.

“I am confident that if I recommend a deal, it will win the support of the shadow cabinet and the partyroom,” he told The Weekend Australian.

But that will depend on whether the government is prepared to give sufficient ground on the opposition’s amendments in the negotiations that will continue this weekend.

“My view is that we should responsibly and constructively seek to amend the government’s proposal,” Mr Turnbull said.

“If we cannot achieve amendments to our satisfaction then of course we’ll vote it down. If we can achieve amendments that satisfy our concerns then we should support it.”